Games get underway this Saturday at Latrobe Park for the 20th season of the South Baltimore Youth Soccer League (SBYSL). SBYSL, which has soccer teams for kids from ages three to 18, is suiting up a record 675 players this year.
SBYSL was started in 2005 by Darlene Padgett, the late Victor Doda Jr., and Mike Conway. The three friends were looking to bring an activity to the kids in the neighborhood for the fall. Doda Jr. and Conway played in a Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) soccer league growing up in South Baltimore. Conway was a former player and front office member of the Baltimore Blast. The league began at South Baltimore Little League’s facility and eventually moved to Latrobe Park.
Doda Jr. was the president of SBYSL until his passing in 2021. Padgett and Cindy Curley led the league in recent years as co-vice presidents. Matt Shudtz, parent of two SBYSL players and a coach, was elected as the new president of SBYSL earlier this year and Robyn Leap, parent of three SBYSL players and a coach, was elected vice president.
Curley, who has been involved with the league since its inception, spoke on SouthBMore.com’s South Baltimore Now! podcast and talked about how former SBYSL players have gone on to play for club teams and have gained the confidence to try out for high school teams. She noted it’s “heartwarming” to see some of the former players come back to help out as coaches and referees.
She also thanked the hundreds of volunteers who have helped keep the league running the past 19 years.
SBYSL is playing games for its 10-week season on Saturdays at Latrobe Park, including games at Banner Field and the field behind Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School (FSK). Most of the age groups will also have a group practice during the week which will take place at Latrobe Park, Swann Park, and Club Volo. In recent years, SBYSL has implemented a group practice format for most age groups that incorporates skills and drills stations and scrimmaging.
Leap, who was instrumental in getting the group practices started, wanted to make sure all the players got an equal amount of coaching, skill development, and engagement at the practices. She noted these practices also allow friends who are not on the same team to see each other and they help fill the gap if any teams are light on players or coaches during a practice session.
For the younger players, Leap is passionate about blending soccer with tangible items that grab the kids’ attention. This includes dribbling while holding a Lego that is later stacked at the end of a player’s turn, speed poles with Blaze and the Monster Machine faces on them, drills with parachutes, and a dribbling and defense drill depicting cats and mice.
She noted soccer fundamentals are learned while the kids are engaged in a fun activity.
Part of SBYSL’s growth this year is due to the expansion of an all-girls divisions. This year SBYSL is offering U8, U11, and U15 for girls and adjusting field sizes for the appropriate age groups.
Shudtz noted there is a lot of energy in the girls divisions and he believes it’s synergistic with the growth of softball at South Baltimore Little League.
League enrollment has grown 40 percent since 2019. This year has approximately 675 players, 125 coaches, 11 divisions, and 66 teams. Shudtz said all the coaches are “vital” to making SBYSL what it is.
Harris Teeter will continue to be the jersey sponsor for the league.
Jackson Fisher, who coordinates activities for the Friends of Riverside Park and who is also a long-time leader and member of the planning committee for SBYSL, and Al Passarella, a coach and the secretary at SBYSL, took the lead in an effort to get new soccer goals at Riverside Park and Swann Park, as well as repairs to the turf at Banner Field.
They approached South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP), which gives out Local Impact Grants generated by Maryland casinos. SBGP approved $23,708.49 for equipment for the two parks, but repairs to Banner Field will be done by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks under a turf master plan. That work has not yet begun.
Swann Park currently has no soccer goals on its soccer/football field as previous goals at the park deteriorated and were removed. The grant has allowed Riverside Neighborhood Association (RNA), the grantee, to order two full-size soccer goals as well as four smaller goals for younger divisions to set up two smaller fields.
Riverside Park’s recent renovation included two full-size soccer goals with football field goals posts. The grant provides the funding for four smaller goals to set up two smaller fields.
While new equipment is coming to Riverside Park, it is not yet ready for permitted events and will not be used this season by SBYSL.
As another fall season is getting underway, SBYSL is looking to expand its offerings in the winter as its indoor soccer league sold out last year in less than 48 hours. SBYSL’s indoor league plays at the recently-renovated Myers Pavilion in Curtis Bay and last year it piloted a futsal program at FSK for players who were waitlisted. Futsal is five-on-five soccer played on courts.
Shudtz said they are hoping to get some time slots on Sundays this year at Myers, in addition to the usual Saturday hours. They are also looking to expand futsal and potentially use more gymnasiums around the area.
